


The Day the World Changed

by Joanna_Kay



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Husband-Wife dynamics, That is September 11th, but it DOES include a basic timeline of the attacks, character responses, it involves the World Trade Center attack, meaning evacuation - the towers collapsing - and abstract off-screen death, prequel (to the show), rated for subject matter!!!, running to danger not from, takes place on 9/11/2001, that mean it involves terrorism, there are not truly "graphic descriptions of violence"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:48:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29861106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joanna_Kay/pseuds/Joanna_Kay
Summary: Owen Strand is sleeping after a long shift at station 252 when Gwyn wakes him up and completely changes his world.
Relationships: Gwyneth Strand/Owen Strand
Kudos: 3
Collections: Fan Fiction Library (Discord) Challenge #1: 20 Prompts





	The Day the World Changed

**Author's Note:**

> This is un-beta'd but I have gone through it with spellcheck and grammar check. Any mistakes are mine.
> 
> This is a response to two separate Discord server event challenges. The first, from Fanfiction Library, was to embed the dialogue: "It's okay, go save the world. I'll be fine." The second, from Fanfiction HQ, was authors choice. I chose: Support.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Gwyneth Strand was reading through a legal brief when her paralegal burst into her office. Looking up with a glare at the interruption, any rebuke died on her lips as she took in Marjorie’s ashen complexion underneath perfect makeup, wide brown eyes glistening with shock. Before she could ask what was wrong, Majorie turned on the small TV in the corner, flipping through channels that all looked identical until landing on a reputable news network.

Reporters were talking over themselves, bandying about words like hijacking and terrorism . Behind one man, a throng of people were beginning to evacuate the World Trade Center towers. Not everyone, from the looks of it, but a decent amount. On each of the Twin Towers were gaping, smoking holes.

The scene abruptly cut to the Pentagon, another hijacking, another plane crash. The United States of America was on high alert.

It was just after 9:30 AM on September 11th.

Gwyn watched the TV with wide eyes. She had woken up and gotten in a quick workout before waking up Tyler. She had spent her morning with a hyper 8 year old, excited that his father was home after a 48 hour shift. It had taken both of them to convince Tyler that he was going to school, a constant negotiation with their child whenever Owen came back.

It was such a normal Tuesday until Marjorie turned on the TV.

She sank onto the seat, one hand raised to her mouth. The other was tightly holding Marjorie’s hand as they watched their world change. A sudden ring made them both jump and Gwyn scrambled for her cell phone. It was Tyler’s school. Out of an abundance of caution, all New York City schools were closing and she or her husband would need to come get their son as soon as possible. 

A quick word to her boss, a reassuring hug for Marjorie, and Gwyn was gone, dialling Owen’s phone number before she even reached the ground floor and her car. She didn’t truly expect an answer, knowing that Owen often put his phone on silent after getting off a long shift in an effort to catch up on sleep while she and Tyler were out of the house. It continued to ring until a robotic voice informed her the voicemail was full.

Tyler was as hyper as ever, excited to be let free and chattering a mile a minute about what he and Owen were going to get to do when he got home. Owen had promised the boy a tree house, or at least the beginning stages of one, and Tyler couldn’t wait for his Boys Clubhouse. Gwyn answered his questions absently, nodding and making inquisitive noises in all the right places, all the while continuing to call Owen, alternating between their landline and his cell phone.

It was quiet when they arrived home, the house unlit except for sunlight streaming in the windows, and she pulled Tyler from his immediate run towards the stairs, instead setting him up with a game and a quick snack while she went upstairs. The bedroom door was open, curtains drawn with enough light seeping through the edges for her to see Owen, sprawling bare-chested on the bed, dark blonde hair spiked from his shower.

She ventured in quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking her head in exasperation when he automatically turned towards her with a grumble. He had always been able to sleep like the dead, rousing for only the most strident cries from their son or an alarm of some sort… but he had innate knowledge of just where she was. She ran her hand through his short hair, smiling when he leant into it slightly like a cat, bright blue eyes still obscured by his eyelids.

“Owen. Owen, you need to wake up.”

He moaned and then groaned as his eyes opened. Glancing at the bedside clock, he grimaced. He had not gotten anywhere near enough sleep while his wife was out. Shaking his head, he sat up in bed, abruptly aware that she shouldn’t be home yet. “Gwyn? Are you okay?”

Hearing the beginnings of panic, she shook her head slightly and leaned into him. “I’m okay,” she soothed, continuing: “so is Tyler. He’s downstairs right now.”

Owen swung his legs over the side of the bed, scrunching his toes in the plush carpeting. “You took him out of school?”

“Something happened. Not to either one of us, but,” she hesitated and shook her head before reaching for the remote on the bedside table, turning on the TV in the corner of the room. There was no way to easily break what was happening to her husband. It would be better to rip the bandaid off. Pulling up the news, she could feel him tense as his agile mind took in what was happening on the screen.

In the time between her leaving her office, picking up Tyler and arriving home, the South Tower had collapsed. Gwyn could only hope that the lackluster stream of evacuees had turned into a flood and as many people were saved as possible. The North tower was still burning merrily, people evacuating in a steady stream, but nowhere near as many as the building could hold. The scene was bedlam, lights flashing, civil servants hurrying about as they tried to help people.

She swallowed heavily. Her husband was going there, running into danger instead of away from it. There had been a level of worry about his firefighter vocation ever since he chose to give up law, but it was low unless he let specifics slip or missed one of his nightly phone calls while working a shift.

“I don’t…” he stopped talking glancing at her. Gwyn shrugged and shook her head. 

“I know, honey. Come on, let’s get you something to eat.” She stood, pulling him with her.

“I should call the station,” he started, falling silent as she glared at him.

“They’ve probably already called you,” Gwyn allowed. “But you’re eating something before you go back out,” she muttered. 

Owen nodded slightly, knowing that when she laid down the law like that, there was no arguing with her unless it was something truly important. Her making sure that he was fed wasn’t the hill he wanted to die on. He followed her down into the bright kitchen, pulling his cell phone from the charger and absently checking his call log. 

Two calls from Tyler’s school, obviously done before they called Gwyn at work. Over twenty calls from Gwyn herself. They were drowned by a multitude of calls from his station and numbers he recognized as belonging to his fellow firefighters. It was obvious that they had been trying to get hold of him for a while, which was alarming.

They were rarely called into work after a 48 hour shift, not unless something catastrophic had happened.

Owen’s eyes sought the TV playing quietly and acknowledged that something had. He began eating, not paying attention to the food he was shovelling in his mouth as he hit the button to call his station, immediately getting connected to his captain. They had obviously been waiting for him to get in contact. Promising that he would be there as quickly as humanly possible, he finished his meal and pressed a kiss to Gwyn’s cheek. “I have to go get ready,” he murmured quietly.

Owen was stopped before he made it up the stairs, Tyler finally realising that his father was awake and throwing himself at him, beginning to talk a mile a minute about their plans for that afternoon and the promised hardware store trip.

Kneeling down, Owen shook his head slightly at his son. “I have to go back to work, Tyler.” 

“But, Daddy!” He protested, beginning to pout even as Owen pulled him in for a hug.

“I know, kiddo.” Owen closed his eyes and shook his head, hating to break any promise he made to either members of his family. “But there are a lot of people out there that need help right now.”

Tyler nodded grumpily, not wanting Owen to leave but knowing that his Daddy was the best helper in the world. “I guess,” he muttered, scuffing his toes on the carpet.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promised, looking over Tyler to meet Gwyn’s eyes.

Tyler accepted it grudgingly and with a quick “Love you, Daddy,” he was off and back to his toys. As much as he hated Owen leaving, it was something he was quite used to.

Owen changed quickly and was back downstairs in no time. “I’ll call as soon as I can,” he promised Gwyn as they stood together in the front doorway.

“It’s okay,” Gwyn shook her head. “Go save the world. I’ll be fine.” She looked back to where Tyler had moved on to a Lego set and was busily constructing something, pink tongue poking out between his lips in concentration. “We’ll both be fine.”

She swallowed heavily before launching herself at her husband, trusting him to catch her as she threw her arms around his neck. “Just make sure you come back to us,” she whispered against his neck before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Stay safe.”

Owen nodded silently, raising a hand to cup her cheek before turning to leave, not looking back until he was pulling out of the driveway.

Gwyn stood in the open doorway until Owen’s car disappeared down the bend in the road, one hand raised in farewell as her husband left for what promised to be the fight of a lifetime.

She shivered absently in fear before turning back into the house and closing the door behind her. She couldn’t go with Owen, but she could at least watch what he was going through on the TV.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated!


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